Blog

The steps to building a house can be overwhelming and emotional . Where do you start? Who do you speak to? Who do you hire? Because there are many people involved in building a house , we’ve documented a simple outline to get you started.

The Process of Building a House Acquire property

The first step in building a house is to look for suitable land, and/or an existing home that has potential to be reconstructed to meet your desires. There are many considerations that determine if the property is suitable. Some of these...

Jordan recently completed a site visit to a new custom home at Mammoth Ski Area. The building is 18,000 square feet with under story parking. With a 300 pound per Sq. ft. snow load the structural engineering had to literally account for Mammoth loading!

The logs will conceal the traditional framing. Final completion will have logs exposed with concealed framing. Every log piece was pre-built at a log builders yard in Montana, with mock up walls and beams to get properly fit. Then its numbered, disassembled and shipped down, and fitted up on site.

We are proud to be a part of bringing the vision of TAO Architects and developer CA Ventures to fruition as Identity Apartments takes shape. When complete, it will be a 94-unit student housing development directly adjacent to the Boise State University campus. Students at BSU will be able to count on Identity as a first-rate housing option in the fall of 2018, complete with a fitness area & lounge, and boasting expansive views from its rooftop deck. Only question is, will they be able to witness the action...

A&V’s Pasadena office recently enjoyed themselves a little game night as a way to kick off the summer fun. They started with some ping pong battles, and capped it off by seeing who could best the others in a series of board games. And to add to the festivities, competitors from the San Luis Obispo & Santa Barbara offices joined in on the...

The structural phase is wrapping up on Alexander Station Apartments in Gilroy, California! John Layous, S.E. headed up our team of engineers in collaborating with Hochhauser Blatter Architects and Pacific Companies to see this project through to this point. Before long, this 263-unit affordable housing complex with retail and community meeting spaces will be complete! Lots of work to get five stories of Type III wood framing and a total of 420,000 square feet built...

September project update; The roof is on and trades are working away inside.

Construction is well underway on a new 17,000 square feet Church in Bellingham . The structural engineering features heavy-duty glulam tudor arches that space 63 feet! The arches make room for the vaulted sanctuary space that...

What a treat it was to celebrate the beginning of 2017 with nearly our entire firm congregating on the central coast. All sorts of activities went down--from a trail run in Montaña de Oro, to a surf session at Palisades, to mountain biking in the Irish Hills. There was even a series of tournaments that included billiards, ping pong, & bowling. All told between employees & family members, we had over eighty-five people in attendance from all seven of our offices, some of whom traveled more than 800 miles to partake in the festivities. And for those who made the excursion...

It’s been a tough winter for everyone, and A&V has responded in force! Recent severe winter weather in Central Oregon brought excessive snowfall, causing the catastrophic collapse of ​several structures, including the gymnasium at Bend's Kenwood Elementary School . Ashley & Vance responded to the onslaught of requests for emergency structural evaluations by mobilizing three teams of engineers to analyze buildings for life-safety. We were able to...

Another wonderful year is coming to a close, and our San Luis Obispo office celebrated in style by hosting an Open House replete with food, drinks, and music, and capped it off with an epic gingerbread house competition. Too many outstanding entries to list here, but we did want to give a special shout-out to A&V's very own Chelsie Taylor for runner-up, and Andrew & Stephanie Martin for taking home the top spot!